If you prefer your inspirational movies to be true and to feature charming sea-dwelling mammals, then Dolphin Tale should be just the story for you. The real-life story of how one dolphin got her groove (and her tail) back thanks to some helpful humans now has a trailer, which you can watch below.
While it sounds far too good to be true, it’s inspired by the very real saga of Winter, who got her tail caught in a crab trap and had to have it amputated. Thanks to some resourceful types, she ended up in the care of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and was fitted with a prosthetic tail.
Winter plays herself in the film, and Empire got a chance to meet her when we visited the set late last year. Her only disadvantage is that she doesn’t exactly give the most useful interviews* so we also talked to the movie’s humans including Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman and director Charles Martin Smith.
Judd admitted that even she was a little sceptical when she first got the screenplay: “I didn't know it was true story when I was reading it. When I was done I thought, 'This writer needs to be taken out and shot! This is just so emotionally manipulative, and how dare they have the audacity to incorporate every touching storyline imaginable? Little boy abandoned by his father who idolizes his hero cousin who's a great athlete and a soldier too. That's criminal.' Then I saw Winter's website and it dawned on me it's a true story and thought it would be a wonderful thing to be a part of.”
There’ll be more from her and the rest of the cast closer to the film’s release.
For now, though, take a look at the trailer and let us know your thoughts.
Dolphin Tale will swim into cinemas on October 14.
*Though she did want to pass along the message “So long, and thanks for all the fish.”